The turning of sunlight into useful energy has been the subject of many proposed systems, such as passive absorbers, active solar panels, solar electric cells and solar furnaces.
In the solar electric cell art, it is already known to mount an array of silicon solar cells on a substrate and link them electrically to produce a small amount of electric energy capable of operating a railroad crossing signal light or the like. However, it has been estimated that it would cost $150,000.00 to supply enough solar cells to cover the roof of an average house and thereby provide sufficient wattage to energize the electric appliances, stoves, television sets, etc. of the house.
To increase the energy produced by an array of solar cells, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,313 to Gattone of Jan. 23, 1962 to provide a plurality of superposed layers of light convergent lenses arranged in cascade for intensifying the light received by the cells. However, such lenses even when of plastic are costly and the plastic used may not stand up in the heat generated within the enclosure by the sun, which may reach 200.degree. Fahrenheit or over.